Stonewall survey revealing but a missed opportunity

May 23, 2007 1:51 PM

DELGA has given the new Stonewall survey publication 'Living Together' a guarded welcome. Chair Jen Yockney commented, "The survey gives a valuable and uplifting snapshot of public opinion in Britain on lesbians and gay men, but almost entirely misses out on attitudes to bisexual men and women - which I suspect would give a broader understanding of how social acceptance varies between parts of the LGBT communities".

"Stonewall's report calls for political parties to encourage lesbian and gay people to become MPs and councillors, and for the media to portray lesbian and gay lives realistically. Media representations of bisexual people still seem to be more negative than those of lesbians and gay men, and this survey could have helped to examine why we have fewer out bis in the media and politics."

The survey also misses out on attitudes toward transgender people, but while Stonewall does not normally deal with trans issues, it declares itself to be a lesbian, gay and bisexual organisation.

Jen continued, "The survey findings however are very welcome - from sport to school to religious bodies, the survey suggests people are increasingly comfortable with lesbians and gay men taking part in every walk of life. It also shows three quarters or more of the wider population support measures to tackle prejudice and discrimination, such as the Lib Dem campaign to tackle homophobic bullying in schools. Nine out of ten support legislation to address incitement to hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation."

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